Gas leak caused house explosion that severely burned mother and child in Taunton, Massachusetts
Firefighters in Taunton, Massachusetts said a natural gas leak is the cause of a house explosion that left a mother and her child with potentially life-threatening burns.
The home on Plain Street exploded around 10 a.m. Wednesday and damaged two nearby homes
Taunton police body camera video
Body camera video released Thursday showed the first Taunton police officer who responded to the explosion. The officer helped people living next door evacuate through waist-deep snow.
Then, they realized all the fire hydrants on the street were buried from Monday's blizzard that dumped 29 inches of snow in Taunton.
"Do you know where any hydrants are?" the officer asked a neighbor on the street.
Neighbors grabbed shovels and started looking for hydrants as officers went door-to-door evacuating everyone from neighboring homes.
"Hey, we need everyone out of the house. We need everyone out of their houses, OK?" the officer said.
Neighbor describes Taunton explosion
Jacinda Jones lives next to the home that exploded.
"I can just say, you will never know until you are actually in the situation, but it's fight or flight," Jones said. "My son and my partner were in the living room sitting on the couch when we just heard an explosion and our living room window burst open and glass flew."
Jones and her family quickly ran from the house and into their car in the driveway.
"We moved the blind back, and we instantly just saw the house was engulfed in flames and smoke," Jones said. "As soon as you walked into the dining room, you felt the heat. You knew we couldn't last one more second inside there."
Mother escapes with daughter
Inside that exploded home were Jones's good friend Lucitha Blanc and her two-year-old daughter Jenelle. The 25-year-old escaped with her daughter, but not before they suffered what police called life-threatening burns.
"The last thing I heard (Wednesday) is that they were both doing OK. Hopefully, I will learn some more later," Jones said.
Taunton Fire said Thursday the blast was the result of a natural gas leak and "no foul play is suspected." Eversource crews were on hand on Thursday assessing the property and digging through rubble.
Due to the catastrophic damage caused by the explosion and subsequent fire, the fire department says the exact location of that leak and the cause of ignition remain under investigation.
"Everything is completely gone and ruined throughout the whole house," said Jones. "We went back for an hour to get some clothes or shoes to see what we could get, not much."
The community has stepped up with donations and online fundraisers for the families who have been impacted. It's helping Jones stay positive.
"You know it sucks, it's a part of life, and I just got to pull my boots up and keep moving forward. We're just starting all over from zero with nothing," said Jones.
